Saturday, September 27, 2008

Things are swell for the Dodgers on the field, although the same might not be said for fans who accidentally end up there with them. Erin of Robots Took My Medicine recounts a security incident she witnessed at Dodger Stadium last Thursday, when a female fan fell onto the warning track going for a baseball—then decided to pursue the ball:

A security guard finally saw the woman when she started to run. [...]

I figured he would just grab her and stop her, but this guy, apparently deeming the woman a huge threat to national security, tackled her by the neck, pinning her against the wall. [...] My fiance kept watching and said that then, with his arms still around the woman's neck, the guard threw her to the ground. By the neck. I looked back and saw that, at this point, three of his coworkers had come over to help, and they decided that they needed three of them to hold this woman down and cuff her, then drag her off the field.

While acknowledging the Dodgers' zero-tolerance policy regarding fans on the field, Erin is sure of one thing: "This was violent. This was unnecessary. And it was just plain mean." And Erin is acting on her conviction, vowing to boycott Dodger games next year if the guard is still employed by the stadium.

We weren't there to witness the incident, but SoSG shares Erin's concern about the potential use of excessive force by Dodger Stadium security. Players must be protected, and fans on the field should be dealt with efficiently. But guards should be able to use discretion; was a verbal warning issued, for instance?

Erin has contacted several members of the Dodgers front office, including VP of Public Relations and Broadcasting Josh Rawitch. "I was planning on buying a season ticket package for next season," she writes. "That won't happen now, unless I hear something about this man being fired for his actions." We look forward to hearing from Erin what management has to say—and where she will be watching the Dodgers in 2009.

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comments:

I was at this game. This happened at the same time the Dodgers were playing a tribute to Eric Gagne. The tribute was a montage of pictures and videos of Eric with 'Welcome to the Jungle" playing in the background. Well, some one thought Eric Gagne was at the stadium because the security guards were running towards the bullpen. (apparently somebody doesn't know he plays for another team). The rumour spread like wildfire. It was quite entertaining to see this all happen at once. As far as how the woman was being treated; there are so many nut jobs out there that sometimes the police don't have time to ask questions. Why did she run? I wouldn't worry about her getting hurt, she was probably pretty toasted.